The Festival and the Beach

Two days of fun and sun
Two days of red and bed.

Well, I wish it was two days of bed
and I wish it was only two days of red.

The Festival:

Gorgeous! You all up there did a great job in making the place look really good. I was impressed. I used to live there, so I remember something of the huge deal it was to pull something off like that. Thanks for extending the invitation to us. We all had a great time, and we enjoyed and appreciated your hospitality.

The food stalls were good, the food was good. The lights were nice, the lanterns were perfect. The organized signs everywhere, the immaculate classrooms were inspiring. Our rooms were comfortable and inviting. The kids were so sweet. So cute. It was great to see everyone!

The show was really fun! Dance Dance a hit as always, the wacky medley got a laugh as can be expected everytime. Surfin' Gypsy got an encore, of course.
Mike even spoke his piece in Japanese. No rehearsed lines, you could tell. In a good way, Mike, really.
The rain was perfectly held back by none other than the hand of God, letting in just a sprinkle once in awhile to let us know that He was still holding back the 2 expected typhoons for us, which came upon us just as we got back home to Tokyo. The timing was eerie.

The Beach:

Fear and folly
Fun and jolly
Melancholy

Fun and jolly: I miss the beach already. I have never had such an easy time catching waves as I did this time. It was so fun! Even Ambie caught a bunch for the first time ever. Wow.
Things were different down in the three feet and below world. My kids both hated it at first. We thought that if they could just feel the rush of the waves crashing at their feet they would be insatiable. We thought that the freedom to get as dirty as they wanted in the sand would immediately result in enthusiastic mud wrestling matches.
We wish.

Fear: Keith thought the waves were tsunami waves. Terrified, he wouldn't let me in the water, desperately pushing me away from it, frantic to save my life.
He said, "Mommy, I love you. I don't want you to float away!"
He was also afraid for everyone else who was in the water, too, no doubt feeling like Noah trying to warn all those foolish frolickers of impending doom.
Alysha was just as scared of the dirt as much as the water.

I mean, what was I thinking? If they don't like hair washes, and Alysha hated the dirt out at potato digging land, why, oh, why did I think they would even want to get near the sea? But as I always say, hope springs eternal.
And I was right. Mike took them both down the street for an ice-cream shiner prize for letting him carry them to the water (kicking and screaming the whole time). And they were fine. Ice cream saves the day again. Keith even thought about trying to not be scared of the water when he turns 5.
And I got my time in the water, caught a bunch of fun waves! It was great. The thought did occur to me that if I got carried off to sea, Keith would probably never trust again. Or love again. I'd better hang on to my board.

But between waves and laughter, I realized that he was just, for a moment, feeling something of the same thing I feel whenever we go over the tracks now. The same thing as when he is riding his bike too fast down the middle of the street. The same as when for a terrifying 5 minutes, I lost him at the busy market in China (he was hiding. I cried).
It's a flutter of panic at losing your heart.
He was desperately trying to protect me because he loves me that much.
To Do: be more understanding of my children's feelings,
love them more,
remember how much they love me.

Folly: The city slickers we are, many of us (note some of the pics I posted are sepia or B&W) are beet red right now. Not everyone used sunscreen, and ouch! I feel for them. My kids, I doused them every few minutes. Myself, too. Remember, the overprotectiveness? At least they're of the few unburnt.

Melancholy: And our trip back was naaaice. I slept in the back of the van, and eventually the kids joined me back there and it was like coming home on a perfect wave. Melancholy because I finally had time to think about the memories that being at the school evoked. The friends and the experiences, our marriage, our honeymoon year, our first baby. Lots of fun, lots of fights, lots of love, a lot of life.
A melancholic mood of the best kind.

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